New Moon in Cancer

Cancer is the home of the nurturing Moon and the exaltation of life-generating Jupiter, a watery zodiacal place of deep memory and imagination, tidal forces that wax and wane, pregnant wombs and fertile fields that give birth. In the northern hemisphere the Sun ascends to its greatest height upon entering tropical Cancer, producing the longest day of animating solar light. Cancer is a place of creation. The New Moon in Cancer on 25 June is a potent creative matrix full of complicated tensions that ultimately can initiate profound shifts, breakthroughs, and the nurturance of flourishing new creative directions.

Like the swift speed and shifting phases of the Moon that makes her home in Cancer, the watery currents of Cancer run fast. Yet the internally directed nature of Cancer can also slow down to carefully tend each step of the process and each relationship involved in the process of cultivating visions to produce prosperity, community, or whatever goal one has in mind. For all these reasons the annual New Moon in Cancer tends to be one of the most optimal lunations of the year to set intentions for manifesting your dreams and desires, yet this year it has the added quality of simultaneously involving a new cycle of Jupiter exalted in Cancer. The combination of both the Moon in her watery home being reanimated at the same time as Jupiter in his exaltation of Cancer makes the lunation incredibly fertile with imaginal potential.

One day before the Cancer New Moon on 24 June, Jupiter experienced the death of an old cycle and the birth of a new cycle by being reanimated by the creative radiance of the Sun. Known as Jupiter’s superior conjunction when Jupiter is symbolically regenerated in the heart of the Sun, Jupiter became cleansed and purified within what Demetra George has called the “sanctum sanctorum,” or “the innermost holy chamber of the mystery initiations” found within “the protected space at the heart of the Sun.” Although there is a powerful, purifying potency involved when Jupiter begins a new cycle with the Sun, it also means that Jupiter is in his invisible phase of being too close to the Sun to be seen. This means that the beneficial associations Jupiter has with prosperity, freedom, fellowship, vision, purpose, moral integrity, spiritual devotion, and creative fertility can be felt and explored more so within our inner life and imagination than in external events we can witness. By the end of the forthcoming lunar cycle Jupiter will re-emerge into visibility as a morning star heralding the rise of the Sun in mid July, and so the inner work of purification and cultivation of intention we set into motion with the Cancer New Moon can lead to more visible results once the Moon waxes into fullness on 10 July.

Of course, Jupiter exalted in Cancer does not take away the troubles of the world nor does it only possess positive significations. Yet the combination of both Jupiter and the Moon being simultaneously reanimated makes it a powerful time to go within and clarify what you truly desire and wish to nurture and create with your life, releasing the superfluous and refocusing your mind on affirming your capacity to make it happen. The New Moon in Cancer is also not about unrestrained growth, as the Sun, Moon and Jupiter are barely separating from a glaring square aspect from Saturn and Neptune in Aries. In particular the constraining and limiting force of Necessity governed by Saturn will make us aware of what hasn’t been working, and due to the intensification of the Saturn and Neptune cycle, we could be vulnerable to feelings that our dream is at risk of dying rather than being reanimated. It will be important to work with the limits of Saturn in ways that aid you in facing the elements of reality you must work through and negotiate, while simultaneously embracing the fertile vision amplified by the Cancer New Moon’s union with Jupiter.

The tension between the New Moon in Cancer with Saturn and Neptune in Aries is happening at the same time we are experiencing the greatest intensification of the Saturn and Neptune cycle that we have experienced since the last time they came together in 1989. Saturn and Neptune ending and beginning a cycle always goes with our collective perception of reality changing while amplifying the potential for feelings of despair, delusion, and disillusionment, yet there combination also creates greater capacity for dramatically changing your personal life through forging greater faith and purpose and patiently constructing the foundation to build your dream life upon. In the forthcoming lunar cycle we will experience even greater intensification of Saturn and Neptune, as Neptune will station retrograde in Aries on 4 July followed by Saturn stationing retrograde on 13 July only thirteen arc minutes away from one another.

Fortunately, the presence of Jupiter with the New Moon in Cancer can help us temper the tension. With so much breaking apart in the world, there are numerous ways in which fears stemming from uncertainty can get in the way of clearly focusing on the emerging opportunities for breakthroughs in growth and development. There could be old childhood patterns, ancestral patterns, unconscious complexes, and other old patterns coming into awareness that have the potential to obscure vision with their ghostly fog. Yet this also means there is profound potential to break these old patterns through deep inner work with the imaginal field within, with the reanimated and invisible presence of Jupiter exalted in Cancer in perfect position for assistance. Like the living image of the crab associated with the zodiacal sign of Cancer who slowly molts outgrown shells in the process of forming new shells, the deep lunar memory field activated by Jupiter in Cancer may stir old memories and patterns that need to be re-absorbed as part of shedding the old skin. A deep process of imaginal purification and intention setting may be engaged as Jupiter moves through his invisible phase into visibility in the weeks following the lunation at the same time that the Moon is waxing to fullness.

Adding motivational fuel to the New Moon in Cancer is the presence of Mars in Virgo. The New Moon in Cancer is separating from a square with Saturn and Neptune in Aries and a conjunction with Jupiter, while applying to an uplifting sextile aspect with Mars in Virgo. Mars in Virgo is likewise separating from an invigorating sextile aspect with Jupiter in Cancer that was exact on 22 June. Mars in Virgo is practical, analytical and diagnostic in ways that can help cultivate the courage necessary to face problems and issues and find a solution or way forward. In addition, at the same time the first crescent light of the waxing Moon in Cancer emerges on June 26, the Moon will be forming a receptive and harmonious sextile with Venus in her earthy home of Taurus. The inception of the new lunar cycle moving between harmonious aspects with Mars and Venus in earth signs is ideal for getting grounded in the present with the details of circumstances to not only set intentions for what we want to magnetize and pursue in our work, but also take pragmatic action to make it happen.

It’s also worth reflecting upon the ways in which the Cancer New Moon is connected to much larger eras of historical change. Not only are we experiencing the ending and beginning of a Saturn and Neptune cycle that occurs every thirty-six years, but we are also experiencing the waxing square aspects of both the twenty year Saturn and Jupiter cycle as well as the thirteen year Jupiter and Neptune cycle. We are collectively and personally at critical stages of growth related to the Jupiter and Neptune conjunction in Pisces in April 2022 as well as the Jupiter and Saturn conjunction in Aquarius in December 2020. The great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn at the end of 2020 is the one of utmost importance, as it initiated us into a two century long epoch of Jupiter and Saturn conjunctions only occurring in air signs. We are still at an early stage of collectively adapting (I recommend listening to this podcast from Druish astrology on it) and that’s why the stakes feel so high with everything right now.

In addition to the Jupiter and Saturn conjunction at the end of 2020, the reason why the year 2020 was so important was that we experienced a conjunction of Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn that was also simultaneously forming a conjunction with the South Node of both Saturn and Pluto, while Jupiter also formed a conjunction with the South Node of Jupiter in 2020. This year in addition to Jupiter coming into the waxing square with both Saturn and Neptune, Jupiter will also be forming a conjunction with the North Node of Jupiter. Jupiter will be crossing over its heliocentric north node by the end of the forthcoming lunar cycle, and then will continue to transit close to the geocentric north node of Jupiter into early November. Altogether this brings even more profound symbolism into the portal of new growth and development we are entering with the New Moon in Cancer.

In addition to Jupiter entering the sign of its North Node in 2025, Uranus will also enter the sign of its North Node in 2025. In fact, during the forth coming lunar cycle Uranus will enter its North Node of Gemini on 7 July, only a few days after the stationing of Neptune and before the Full Moon in Capricorn. The entrance of Uranus into Gemini will accelerate the rapid pace of change with a whirlwind force of frenetic frenzy, and while there will be a feeling of great chaos unleashed in world events there will simultaneously be increased potential for extraordinary innovation and invention. The kind of change unleashed by the entrance of Uranus into Gemini this year can feel like titanic forces at play that are outside of our control. Indeed, the square aspect formed between Saturn and Jupiter that is such a key part of the Cancer New Moon evokes the great battles of the Titanomachy waged between Kronos and the Titans against Zeus and the Olympians.

Fortunately, the star of Hermes will be in position to assist in adapting and weaving meaning and insight out of experiences to help us make more effective choices amidst the great collective changes that will be erupting. As the Sun and Moon unite in Cancer, Mercury in Cancer is applying to a harmonious sextile aspect with Uranus in Taurus that will be exact on 26 June. The sextile between Mercury and Uranus is a key part of how a much larger vision of potential growth and change can come together with the New Moon in Cancer. Mercury will then leave the lunar waters of Cancer to enter the fiery radiance of Leo on 26 June, placing Mercury in position to form flowing trine aspects with Saturn in Aries on 27 June and Neptune in Aries on 28 June. Mercury will then proceed into an opposition with Pluto in Aquarius on 29 June. Altogether, this means that Mercury will make connections with all the key players involved in the powerful configuration between Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto that will be the dominant influence on the new era emerging in the years ahead. Let Herme guide you to the messages you need to receive and the choices that need to be made.

The entrance of Mercury into Leo is additionally importance because Mercury will remain in Leo for an unusually long time until 2 September. This is due to Mercury stationing retrograde in Leo on 18 July during the waning half of the forthcoming lunar cycle. As a result, pay attention to what experiences and lessons Mercury begins to stir up in the Leo section of your chart as Mercury has a big renovation project in mind for you there.

Cancer 1 Decan

The Moon will unite with the Sun and Jupiter in the first decan of Cancer associated with the Two of Cups arcanum. The image by Pamela Colman Smith contains two lovers coming together in longing, with a caduceus of intertwining snakes and a winged lion arising in the space between their merging desire. The scarlet lion is daimonic, evoking the eternal return of primordial Creation like golden winged Phanes/Protogonos whirling free from the World Egg to beget the rest of Creation. The caduceus is the tool of psychopomp Hermes and further has roots with the Mesopotamian underworld deity Ningishzida, associated with snakes and the life cycle of vegetation. Death and rebirth, loss and eros, endings and beginnings are all fitting themes for the first decan of Cancer due to it being the first face of Cancer, and Cancer being the rising sign of the Thema Mundi, the mythical birth chart of the World containing the foundational principles of Hellenistic astrology. Yet since the ascendant degree of the Thema Mundi is fifteen degrees of Cancer, while the first decan of Cancer is at the beginning of the rising sign, it is also the decan that comes at the end before the specific degree of the Thema Mundi’s ascendant. There is a birthing quality to this face that resonates with both Jupiter and the Moon being simultaneously reborn here.

Fittingly for the erotic reciprocity in the image of the Two of Cups, the first face of Cancer is ruled by Venus and the Moon. Thus the Cancer Moon is in her own face, magnifying the potency of the decan’s meaning. Demetra George’s translation of The Sacred Book of Hermes to Asclepius (a Greek language text ascribed to Hermes Trismegistus during early Roman Imperial period, possibly around 50 CE) reveals an image for the first face of Cancer containing living symbols of both the underworld and creation: “Face of a dog, entire body a fiery serpent, seated on a pedestal.” In contrast, Henrich Cornelius Agrippa in Three Books of Occult Philosophy wrote that within the first face of Cancer “rises the form of a virgin girl dressed in pretty clothes and wearing a crown on her head: it is excellent for sharp senses, subtlety of wit, and love of men.” While the Hermes text emphasizes the Protogonos symbolism, Agrippa’s image has particular resonance with the feminine half of the Two of Cups image. The feminine form bears life in her womb and can give birth to new life, yet the decan’s larger meaning is more about the force of Creation that is born from the force of Love and what can be produced from the interweaving care of Venus and the Moon.

Austin Coppock in his book on the decans 36 Faces ascribed the image of “A Mother and Child” to the first face of Cancer, as he wrote that the face holds the hungers of our emotions and biology, the womb that gives birth to us and all of our resulting needs. Coppock connected the themes of mother and child to the pursuit of romantic love found in the Two of Cups since “it is the perfect support, half-remembered from the womb, that gives rise to the human dream of similarly nursing bonds between committed partners.” Coppock wrote that idealized unions can be realized in the first decan of Cancer, and that the “face’s magical virtue is to establish mutually nurturing relationships.” Yet Coppock emphasized that the nurturance and sustenance present in this face for both biological children and what we birth from our creativity must also be placed within the waxing and waning nature of the Moon, the lunar cycle that endlessly brings life and death, love and loss again and again. Coppock concluded that the romanticized nature of the Two of Cups must be reconciled with the first decan of Cancer actually possessing “a mixture of hunger and sweetness.” There is an alchemy of love and need blended together in the first face of Cancer, and while the potential of idealized unions “can be seen in this decan . . . success in this matter requires more than longing.”

The ideal entwining of vessels found in the first face of Cancer can be found within all manner of collaborative relationships and is not limited to the realm of romantic love. The central importance of supportive relationships to achieving greater success in the world can also be found in the Hellenistic text 36 Airs ascribing the goddess Nike, the goddess of victory, to the first face of Cancer. A daughter of the underworld river goddess Styx, Nike allied herself with Zeus in the war against the Titans, a mythic war resonant with the present astrology featuring a titanic clash between Saturn in Aries with Jupiter in Cancer. Nike served as the divine charioteer of Zeus in battle, while also rewarding victors of competition with the glory of wreathed laurel.

In connection with Austin Coppock’s symbol of “A Mother and Child” for the first face of Cancer, it’s worth contemplating the significance of Nike being the daughter of the underworld river goddess Styx, who was herself the daughter of Tethys and Okeanos. Residing in the heart of the underworld, Styx allied herself with the Olympians in their revolution against the Titans, eventually becoming the source of the water by which gods swore oaths, ensuring that the Olympians who replaced the Titans would keep their oaths. Nike and the other children of Styx helped enforce order even amongst the gods, with Nike’s emphasis on victory not only limited to the climatic moment of the victor but also the devoted care and commitment necessary to ensure that what has been gained in victory will not be lost due to carelessness or forgetting what one has sworn to do. May the clarification of purpose and insights you receive during the darkness of the New Moon in Cancer help guide you to the forging the commitments aligned with your most authentic values and desires.

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References

Agrippa, Heinrich Cornelius. (2021). Three Occult Books of Philosophy. Translated by Eric Purdue. Inner Traditions.

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans. Three Hands Press.

George, Demetra. (2021). Egyptian Decans: Star Gods of Time. Astrology University.